Evaluating new roles for the support workforce in community rehabilitation settings in Queensland.

Introduction: Alternative workforce models need to be explored to adequately meet the future health care needs of the Australian population. A new role for the support workforce, to optimise their contribution in community rehabilitation in Queensland--the advanced community rehabilitation assistant (ACRA)--was developed on the basis of service activity mapping and gap analysis.

Objectives: Evaluation of a trial of the new ACRA role at six pilot sites in Queensland.

Participants: ACRAs, health professionals and rehabilitation clients.

Methods: Transcripts of semistructured telephone interviews conducted with ACRAs, health professionals and rehabilitation clients were thematically analysed. The nature of the role as well as perceived strengths and weaknesses were explored.

Results: The presence of an ACRA was generally seen to diversify and expand local service capacity. The major challenge was the initial intensity of instruction that was required from supervising health professionals.

Conclusions: ACRAs have potential to be valuable resources in the provision of community rehabilitation services. The challenge of meeting each new ACRA's preliminary training needs requires further consideration. A critical mass of people trained to this role may be required to ensure sustainability. Further trial and evaluation is needed to investigate the role more thoroughly over time and in different settings.